Project Cost Controller

Job Summary

The Cost Controller is responsible for ensuring rigorous financial governance across all phases of the project lifecycle. This role oversees supplier payment processes, purchase order and change control, budget management, forecasting, and cost‑to‑complete reporting. The Cost Controller partners closely with project leadership to maintain financial discipline, support informed decision‑making, and ensure compliance with Vertiv’s commercial and governance standards.

Responsibilities:

Supplier Payment & Invoice Management

• Manage end‑to‑end processing of supplier payment applications, including receipt, accrual tracking, certification, and invoice validation.
• Issue acceptance certificates and coordinate purchase order receipt processing in Oracle.
• Validate supplier invoices against acceptance certificates and contractual terms.
• Maintain accurate registers for supplier applications, invoices, and accruals.
• Identify invoices not supported by purchase orders, obtain required approvals, and enforce PO compliance standards.
• Maintain and reconcile Requisitions and PO registers across the project lifecycle.
• Vet supplier invoices for valid PO references and return non‑compliant invoices.
• Monitor open commitments and ensure alignment with approved budgets and forecasts.

Budget Management, Forecasting & Variance Analysis

• Establish and maintain project budgets within financial systems.
• Perform ongoing budget updates reflecting approved changes and actual costs.
• Produce monthly forecast variance analyses and Year‑To‑Date (YTD) budget comparisons.
• Coordinate site and project team inputs for monthly cost‑to‑complete evaluations.
• Prepare budget updates, forecasts, and financial insights for Project Director review.

Change Management

• Evaluate and forecast the probability of future customer change order intake.
• Support preparation of COR cost estimates and pricing models.
• Communicate revenue and cost impacts of CORs for Project Operating Reviews (POR).
• Define and track sunk cost elements included in COR pricing.
• Integrate approved and forecast CORs into future budget and forecast updates.
• Supplier Change Order Requests
• Coordinate with Quantity Surveyors and Estimators to forecast actual and anticipated supplier COR costs.
• Identify change orders required to recover scope omissions or cost overruns.
• Incorporate supplier CORs into cost‑to‑complete forecasts.
• Change Management & Commercial Governance
• Maintain a comprehensive change register for all project commercial changes.
• Coordinate evaluation, pricing, and financial impact assessments of change events.
• Ensure change approvals comply with Vertiv governance requirements.
• Update budgets, forecasts, and cost‑to‑complete metrics based on approved changes.
• Support the Project Director in commercial negotiations related to change events.

Requirements:

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Construction Management, Engineering, Business, or a related discipline
• Master’s degree or professional qualifications (MBA, MSc, etc.) preferred but not required

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in cost control, project controls, commercial management, or project finance, ideally within: 
• Engineering, construction, infrastructure, or industrial projects
• Proven experience managing: 
  • Project budgets, forecasts, and cost‑to‑complete evaluations
  • Supplier payment applications, invoices, PRs and POs
  • Change orders (customer and supplier) and commercial change registers
• Experience supporting Project Directors / Project Managers with financial reporting and commercial decisions

Technical Skills

• Strong working knowledge of ERP systems (Oracle preferred) for:
• Purchase orders, receipts, invoicing, and accruals
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, lookups, variance analysis, forecasting models)
• Experience preparing:
• Monthly cost reports
• YTD budget vs. actual analysis
• Forecast and variance commentary
• Familiarity with project governance, approval matrices, and financial controls

Commercial & Analytical Skills

• Strong understanding of: 
  • Contractual cost control principles
  • Change management and commercial risk
  • Revenue and cost forecasting
• Ability to assess financial impacts of scope changes and omissions 
• High attention to detail with the ability to maintain accurate financial registers

Interactions

• Site Construction Managers, Program Managers, Finance, Procurement, Operations, Order Management, Different Vertiv Business Units, other Department’s Leads.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

• Valid Driver's License
• Participation in international calls outside business hours
• Up to 20% business trips